


Tomorrow They'll Be More Of Us Telling The Story Of Tonight

by PaleNoFace



Series: Tree Bros Adventures [4]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alana is wonderful let me have that, Alpha Jared, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, And underage I guess, Angst, Beta Alana - Freeform, Beta Connor, Beta/Omega, Connor Deserves Happiness, Explicit Consent, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, I Just Really Love Tree Bros, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jared is a good friend, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, No Angst, Omega Evan, Sex Talk, Single Parent Evan Hansen, Single Parents, Teen Pregnancy, This Fandom Had Enough Angst, Tree Bros, did i say no angst, mentions of mpreg, more tw in the chapter notes, well fuck me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-19 10:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14235630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaleNoFace/pseuds/PaleNoFace
Summary: Evan's life has been missing a piece for a long time, and it's really not at the supermarket down the street that he expects to find it. But hey, who is he to fight destiny ?





	1. Short Night

Evan blinks at his digital clock. It's 3:22, and he's still struggling to find sleep. He decides that, at this point, anything would be better than stay aimlessly in bed, so he gets up and leaves his room. He walks quietly down the corridor, flips on the light of the kitchen and grabs his computer, waiting in standby on the counter. He settles himself on the dining table and opens a few tabs, among which his mails. One from his boss, one from his therapist, two from Alana - why is she even mailing him, does she not have his number ? - and just as many ads. Deletes the last ones and opens his boss' : a reminder for monday's inventory that Evan notes conscientiously in his schedule. Next. His doctor asking if their next appointment is still confirmed. Yes it is. Alana sending him a bunch of documents for jobs at the park. It's really nice of her, Evan thinks as he saves them in the correct folder.

 

There are soft sniffles behind him. He looks up from his screen and witnesses a tuft of red hair pointing from behind the counter. He huffs quietly and walks over, only to find a small kid curled up on the bench, a purple bunny plush in his arms.

 

"Percy," Evan calls softly and the child looks at him, contrite. "Why are you up ?"

 

Percy holds out his arms for Evan to scoop him up, and burries his face in Evan's shoulder, mumbling incomprehensibly between two sobs.

 

"Can't hear you," Evan says, rocking him.  
"Had a nightmare."

 

He hums in understandment as he brushes the child's bang out of the way.

 

"Wanna... tell me what it was about ?"

 

Percy draws in a shaky breath and rubs his eyes, before answering :

 

"I was in a forest. There was no light, and... And I was calling. But I was all alone. I was alone without light and there was something behind me."  
"...Chasing you ?"

 

Percy shakes his head, his eyebrows knitting together in an evident effort to remember.

 

"No. No, just, standing in the shadows and watching me, you know ? Waiting for me to fall or lose the path or... I don't know. Waiting."

 

Evan's doesn't answer but tightens his embrace around him. It takes some time, but the kid eventually relaxes and his breath slows down, indicating that he's already sleeping. After what feels like hours, Evan carefully stands and makes his way to Percy's room, tucking him in bed the best he can manage without waking him up. As he's about to leave, he remembers to turn on the small night light. He's halfway through the door when Percy shifts and looks at him wih tired eyes.

 

"...Dad ? What if the thing comes back ?"  
"Call me and I'll hunt it with the vacuum."

 

Percy laughs and Evan closes the door with a smile. Just another normal night. He's used to it, after all. Just another classic night at the Hansen's household. He takes a deep breath and goes back to his computer.


	2. Alana The Angel Bureaucrat

"Why would you do that ?" Alana says with an exasperated sigh as she sits on her overflowing desk. "It's not like they wouldn't find out once you're in front of them ! Plus, I'm pretty sure it's illegal," she adds as she crosses her arms on her chest, a pile of documents dangerously swaying behind her.  
"I-I know, but it's been statistically proven that Betas and Alphas get, uh, more jobs interviews ! I have the statistics right there !" Evan squeaks, tapping a little bit too hard on his computer screen.  
"Yes, and that's because they're a bigger part of the population, and probably because they apply more often, too," she huffs, raising her arms to the sky, and the documents make another scary wave on the edge of the desk.  
"Lana, please," Evan begs. "I really need this job."

 

She looks at him for two good seconds before pushing her glasses on top of her head and rubbing her eyes. She suddently looks way older than twenty-three years old.

 

"Let's... Let's admit, for a second, that I find a way to change your status in your CV, alright ? Then what ? You show up at the job interview, whoever is in charge smells - and sees, let's be real, Ev, you _look_ like a male Omega- you, and what ? Tells you that, oh well, you faked informations on official papers, but you really seem to be a nice guy, so let's roll with it ?" she growls with a nervous wave of her hand, that doesn't escape Evan's attention.  
"Y-you know that you look a lot like Logan from Sanders Sides when you d-do that ?" he points out before Alana snaps her fingers in front of his face.  
"Focus, Evan !"  
"S-sorry !" he yelps.  
"What I'm trying to say is, you can't hide behind words and quiproquos forever. Someday you're going to have to face the world for real and it'll drop on your face before you even realize it. And for everyone's sake, I really hope it'll put your ideas back into place."

 

Evan grinds his teeth. She's right, of course she's right. He's acting like a child.

 

"I mean. You're right, you're t-totally right, but. I need this job, Alana, I need it. The shop I'm working for is closing and the Museum pays me on hours, not in monthly salary. And I, God, I have my therapist to pay too, and Percy's karate class because let's be honest if he wasn't going he would be a hyperactive mess and..." he draws a sharp breath and starts figetting with his shirt.  
"Evan, Evan, okay, breathe, you're alright. It' okay, don't panic because of this. It' going to work out, I promise, alright ?" Alana rushes, but then adds after a second, "But not like this, okay ? You need that money, I get it, but you don't cheat at the game of life."  
"Of course you do, if you have cheatcodes," Evan mumbles for himself, and Alana rolls her eyes.  
"No, that works only if you're a white cis man Alpha called Jared Kleinman."

 

Evan snorts and nods, because she's not wrong. In the background, the pile of documents falls. Alana takes a deep inspiration, the kind she has when she's trying not to loose her shit, and they try to gather the scattered papers. When everything is back at its place, she finally sits in her chair and opens her own computer, typing quickly before looking up.

 

"I'm going to help you, Ev, for real. But cheating is not the way I work. So, either we get you that freaking job in the right way, either we don't. What do you choose ?"

 

For Evan, of course, the answer is all found.


	3. Shopping Rush

Evan wipes his head to look around a few times, then drops the industrial ham in his kart with a groan.

 

"Dammit."

 

There is no reason to panic, Percy knows full well that he's not autorised to leave the supermarket alone. He can't be that far, right ? Evan makes his way through each aisle, looking for a mop of red hair and dark eyes. After a few minutes though, he has to face reality : Percy is nowhere to be found.

 

"Dammit, goddammit," he grumbles as he walks to the cash desk with his trolley, locating the only staff member of the whole department store.

 

Said guy is looking at a thick book barely hidden behind the counter, his long hair falling on his focused face. Evan clears his throat, making the man look up, and he catches the glimpse of a red nametag saying "Hi! My name is Connor".

 

"Hi. Can I help you ?" Connor asks, slipping a finger to mark his book.  
"Hi, uh, I lost someone in the aisles, could you... Could you page him, please ?" Evan bites his lips, cursing internally his stuttering.

 

Connor is already taking the phone as he says, his tone carefully neutral :

 

"Of course. Does this person have a name ?"  
"Ah, hum, yes, Percy. Percy Hansen."

 

The cashier interrupts the music loop and makes a call that resounds throught the entire store. There is few seconds of silence before Rag'n'Bones Man is playign again, and Connor is leaning back on the counter, eyeing Evan.

 

"Don't worry, it happens all the time," he says placidly as his gaze drops on Evan's fingers, drumming nervously on the handle of the kart. "They always come running after a few minutes."

 

"Dad !"

And, speaking of the devil, Percy sprints through the frozen section, out of breath, a magazine in one hand and a plastic bag of tomatoes in the other. Evan drops at his eye level and hugs him like he could disappear at any moment.

 

"How many times did I tell you not to wander around ?" he growls despite a sigh of relief.  
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry I stopped by the books and I forgot about the tomatoes !" Percy yelps and he hugs him back.

 

Evan lets him go once he's sure everything is okay and takes a look at the guilty book, before looking back at his son.

 

"Do you want to take it ?"

 

If the way Percy's face lits is anything to go by, the answer is clearly yes. Evan rolls his eyes, amused despite the fright, and goes to the cashier to thanks him. Connor watches them going back to their shopping with an amused grin before reopening his own book and muting the rest of the world again.

 

Half an hour later, the Hansens are back with a full trolley. Percy helps with the bagging - well, as helpful as a child can be - while Evan pays for the groceries. His eyes meet Connor's and he hastily looks down.

 

"Hey. Thanks. For earlier. I don't what would have happened if he left the store."  
"Eh, no problem," the other shrugs. "I didn't realize you were looking for a kid, though."  
"O-oh ?" Evan blurts out as he tries to focus on his credit card instead of Connor's (very) nice smile.  
"I mean, usually people say "I'm looking for my son", not "I'm looking for someone" because we react faster when a small kid is involved, right ?"  
"Y-yeah, it makes sense, I guess."  
"Hey, I'm not small !" Percy frowns indignantly from behind a giant cereal box. "I'm seven !"  
"Whoops, sorry buddy, didn't know I was talking to a big boy," Connor laughs, and Percy walks closer to shamelessly stare at him.  
"I like you," he finally declares, and for some reason Evan feels blush creeping up his neck.  
"Come on, frog, let's go home," he mumbles, as he pushes his son towards the exit, while the later shouts happily :  
"Bye Connor !"

 

Unexpectedly, the cashier waves and shouts back :

 

"Bye Percy, try not to drive your dad crazy !"

 

As they unload their stuff in the truck of the car, Percy makes grabby hands for a chips bag that Evan is way to happy to hand over, with the crazy hope it would make him shut up, but Percy is a normal kid that comes with incredible abilities, like eating and speaking at the same time without choking even once. Evan is somewhat grateful that his kid is in his animal period, and so they spend the entire car ride talking about what he learnt in the book they just bought. Turns out it was about meerkats. Of course, it's always about meerkats.


	4. Best Friend Material

When Jared rings at the Hansens' door on a bright sunday afternoon, he really doesn't expect a disheveled Evan covered in flour to open to him.

 

"Did you try to turn into Olaf or something ?" he greets as he walks past the Omega, only to find Percy standing proudly in the middle of a ravaged kitchen. "Holy sh- shovels, you could have told me you were doing a food war, I would have come sooner."

 

Percy shrieks and throws himself in Jared's arms who spins him around, while Evan passes a mealy hand in his hair.

 

"The fridge started leaking last night and we had to save the food. We've been cooking since this morning," he adds and distractly rubs his eyes.  
"That surely explains why Percy is in pajamas."

 

And, indeed, plastic boxes full of food are stacked on the counter, neatly labeled and waiting to be put away. While Percy runs around the apartment, screaming like a possessed monkey on sugar high, Evan gets back to the pot waiting on the cooking plate and sniffs suspiciously at a wooden spoon in it, before giving it to Jared and asking :

 

"Does that smell edible to you ?"

 

The young Alpha frowns and grabs carefully the spoon, as if the ustensil could attack him any instant, sniffs, frowns harder, and give it a kitten lick before his face lits as he grins :

 

"Hey, that's curry ! How did you manage to make it smell like burnt tire ?"

 

Evan shrugs and leans back on the counter, rubbing his eyes once again. He looks very, very tired, and Jared, as a responsible best friend, tells him just that :

 

"Ev, you look like shit."  
"Wow, thanks," the other groans and rolls his eyes. "I had like, five hours of sleep during the week."

 

That's really not much, even for Evan, but Jared knows better than calling him out.

 

"Well, worry not because your knight in shiny armor is here !" he thunders instead, striking a ridiculous yet very cool pose. "I'll take care of your castle and that monster of yours, so you can go shower or nap or jerk off or whatenever you need to do !"

 

Evan's ears turn red and he grumbles that he doesn't need to jerk off, but untie his apron anyway and disappears down the hallway. Jared releases the breath he didn't know he was holding and throws a defeated look at the dishes piling up on every surface aviable. For the next hour, he busies himself with chores, keeping an eye on Percy that crashed on the sofa with a book at some point, while the noise of the shower fills distantly the background. As he's wiping the table, Percy climbs on a chair and hold out his book, pointing at a word :

 

"Jareeeeeed, how do you say that ?"

 

The Alpha tilts his head to look at it.

 

"That's a platypus."  
"Pla-tie-pus ?" Percy mimics.  
"No, pla-tee-pus," he repeats as he exagerates the syllabes, "like in teeth."  
"Platypus. Platypus ? Platypus," the kid mumbles, feeling the word on his tongue. "That's a weird name."  
"It's kind of fitting, since it looks like a living puzzle..."

 

The child giggles and starts to debit at full speed every random fact about platypuses he learned so far, in that weird endearing way of his. Before anyone could notice, Evan is back, clean and changed, and discreetly inserts himself the conversation. It's not what Jared expected to do for the evening, but it's not so bad.

 

Later, when the kid is sleeping like a log, the two of them settle on the couch with Mario Kart and a plastic box full of egg cake in front of them. It's when Evan falls at the same spot for the third time in a row that Jared decides to speak up :

 

"What's up ?"

 

Evan glances at him, wondering if it's not a strategy to keep him behind in the ranking, but finally answers :

 

"Work. The shop I, uh, I'm working for, you know, the DIY store ? It's going bankrupt and closes in two weeks."  
"Outch, that sucks," Jared winces, both at this information and at the blue shell that just made him crash. "What are you gonna do ?"  
"Alana sent me jobs offers from the park and the preserve and, uh, I'm still keeping an eye open for anything aviable, really."

 

Jared snorts and shakes his head.

 

"As long as you don't drop from a tree again..."  
"Oh come on, it- ! It was eight years ago !" Evan moans indignantly.  
"Whatever floats your boat, Acorn," the other grins as he easily reaches the finishing line. "Oh yeah, the insanely cool Jared Kleinman strikes again !"

 

Evan laughs, drops his own controller on the couch and gets up in order to find something to drink. As he comes back with two beers, Jared as already started another round and is waiting for him to choose the race.

 

"So, it's just that ? Work ?"

 

Evan squirms on the couch, very obviously looking the other way and ignoring his best friend, which only stir up the latter's curiosity.

 

"Evaaaaaan," he growls with a wary tone, expecting the kind of shit only Evan seems to get in his life. "What did you do this time ?"

 

As the Omega's lips squeeze in a thin line, Jared's mind already goes wild :

 

"Evan Isaac Hansen, I swear that if you're pregnant again I disown you."

 

Evan looks at him with wide eyes and suddently bursts out laughing, even falling from the couch. It takes him five minutes to calm down, and even then he can't stop giggling. All the time, Jared has been staring at him with an annoyed look.

 

"First o-of all, I'm not sure that's how inherance works, Jared. And no, no I'm not, but thanks for checking."  
"Thank God," he huffs as he raises his arms in a silent prier. "You know that I would help you through this shit again if I had to, but let's be honest, once has been traumatic enough for me."

 

Evan awkwardly pats him on the arm before resettling correctly on the sofa.

 

"Yeah, I know. It may be weird to say but... Sometimes I'm grateful for Percy to exist, even if only for you to be less of a b-bitch about the family-friend tag."  
"Don't fucking swear," Jared replies. "Besides, you know it was a weird time. You've always been my best friend, even then, no matter what past-me could say about it."  
"Still, I'm glad that you were there to help, you know ?" Evan says after a second, and there is emotion in his voice. "I probably wouldn't have made it without you."  
"Don't start," he whines as he looks away. "You'll make me cry."  
"I'm serious. I was such a mess after N-Noah," he adds and his voice cracks at the name. "I'm so glad you and my mom didn't gave up on me. That probably s-saved me."  
"Dammit, Evan," Jared sniffs as he throws back his head against the couch. "You really made me cry, you asshole."

 

They laugh. Evan smiles. Jared blows his nose several times. They eventually go back to their game.


	5. Detective Connor

Evan, for obvious reasons of blackmailing, doesn't talk to Jared about his tiny crush on the cashier from the supermarket. Okay, his crush is everything but tiny, but who can blame him ? Connor is a very good looking Beta, and Evan can tell, he's been staring a lot. Not at Connor, of course ! Just in general. Right. People in general. _Not just Connor._

 

Evan huffs and shakes his head, wondering who the hell he's trying to convince. Surely not himself, he knows he has it bad for the Macbeth's reader. Yeah, Evan somehow discovered was Connor was reading that first time. And all the times after, too : Zola, Alighieri, Poe, Gandhi, Larsson, Einstein, Caroll, Petrarca, Sun Tzu... Every two days or so, Connor seems to start a new book and somehow finish it while he works. This time, it's Baudelaire that monopolizes the cashier attention when the Omega comes to the counter, armed with paper towels and household products. Connor glances at him and promptly pushes his bookmark between the pages, his (now) familiar lopsided grin making weird things to Evan's heart. Well, damn.

 

"Hey, Evan."  
"Hey Connor."

 

He pushes his purchases on the conveyor belt as Miss Finch, the old lady that must live in the supermarket, according to the time she spends in it, packs her sixteenth box of catfood in her small shopping bag.

 

"So !" Evan squeaks, wincing at his too high pitched tone. "S-sorry. So. What's up ?"  
"Well, I'm currently reading poetry about prostitutes, so..." Connor says as he prints the receipt and hands it over to the grandma with a kind smile , "The day's been good so far. What about you ?"  
"Percy has his best friend over, and hum, I'm kind of worried for the neighbors. Two kids running around in an appartment doesn't help with the man living below," he adds with a shrug.  
"Heh, they're kids, what kind of sick fuck would yell at children for being children ?"  
"My neighbor is pretty much the Grinch fused with the Trunchbull from Mathilda, Connor," Evan grumbles but can't help the smirk on his face.  
"Oh my God," Connor snorts. "Seriously ? I have to meet the guy, it must be an undiscovered cryptid or something."

 

They smile at each other, before Evan quickly lowers his gaze to take care of paying. A weird glint shines in Connor's eyes as he taps the code.

 

"Hey, money incoming."  
"W-what ?" the Omega shoots his head up, alarmed.  
"Well, usually your hands shake when you pay, but today they're steady. So either it means you're not afraid of reading 'refused payment', either you're already so low that you don't even care anymore, but it's October second so I really doubt it."

 

Evan has an incredulous laugh as he takes back his card and his receipt.

 

"How comes you're cashier in a local supermarket and not detective for the NCIS or s-something ?"

 

The Beta grins and shrugs comically, and then points at his book at the other end of the counter.

 

"Can't. While you where at elf practice, I studied litterature."  
"Oh my God," Evan gasps softly, "Did you just- Seriously, did you just meme to me ?"  
"I'm not _that_ old, geez, Evan !" the other laughs.  
"I can't believe all the adults in my life are meme lords. I'm doomed," the Omega says as a goodbye as he walks the door with a wave, disappearing behind the corner.

 

It's Connor's turn to snort and shake his head.

 

"Dramaqueen," he mutters under his breath before looking at his watch and frowning. "Shit, already ?"

 

He grabs his book and his jacket dangling on a chair, takes a look at the camera feeds before heading to the break room, calling for his coworker to move her ass and replace him. Time to get a move-on.


	6. The Mom, The Boss and The Jealous

When he comes home, Evan finds his mom at the kitchen table, monitoring the two kids while they're coloring mandalas. The door closing behind him makes Heidi look up and she leaves the table, smiling at him.

 

"Hey Mom," he says, kissing her on the cheek and getting rid of his bag.  
"Hey honey. You went to the store again ?"  
"Yeah, well, I thought I was short on paper towels, so..." he blushes and rubs the back of his neck.

 

Heidi winks at him with a knowing look and grabs the bag, already taking out his purchases to put them at their respective place. As Evan makes a move to help her, she shoos him away to the table, where Percy and Max are comparing their drawings.

 

"Mine looks like a big, big flower," Percy states, looking unsure of what to do with this information.  
"Well, mine is blue," Max replies firmly.  
"Hey boys," Evan smiles as he drops himself heavily in the nearest seat. "Can I see ?"  
"Look Dad, mine has red and green and purple and it looks like a big flower !"  
"Neat ! What about yours, Max ?"  
"Mine is blue and white and green and... and yellow !" the smaller boy grins, waving his mandala like a flag, but then his look turns sour. "Uh, is it okay if I leave it here ?"

 

Evan frowns but accept nonetheless. One more drawing on the fridge, it can't really harm anyone. Later, as he and Heidi are preparing some snacks, the two kids come in rushing, throwing pillows to each other. Before they can break anything, though, Evan calls them :

 

"The hot chocolate is ready !"

 

They drop immediately their weapons and come to sit on either side of Heidi. Percy is grinning, biscuit crumbles all around his mouth ; Max is positively beaming which, to be honest, is kind of a rare sight ; Heidi is distractly chatting with them. And Evan... Evan is just here, watching. Like for most things in his life, he's a silent witness drifting away as the world moves on all around him. But, for once, it doesn't feel bad.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"You know, I think you're exactly the person we need," the boss tells him with a large smile.

 

They're outside, in the preserve, surrounded by a bunch of other rangers minding their own business, and Evan can feel his heart beating the crap out of his ribs. Mr Rozenfeld, despite being a Beta, is the kind of person with an overwhelming aura. Tall, odd-eyed, a handful of brown curls bouncing on his head, in his mid-thirties, he's easily the type of people Evan would look up to.

 

"R-really ?" the Omega says, because he can't believe his luck.  
"Of course ! You have all the right qualifications, you're motivated, you're - pardon my expression - fresh blood and I don't think I'm mistaking if I say you're in need of a permanent contract ?"  
"I-I have no idea how to thank you, Mister Rozenfeld," Evan stutters, because since when is his life so easy ?  
"Please, call me Zec," he simply says, holding a hand that Evan hastens to shake. "See you monday at nine ?"  
"You got it, boss !"

 

Zec's laugh booms in the distance as Evan hurries back to his car. Once he's safely inside, he allows himself to freak out. Like, shit. Seriously ? It was so easy ! The guy was super nice and comprehensive about his wage and made no comment about his secondary gender ? No one in the team looked at him wrong, they were all smiling despite all of them being better at everything he can pretend mastering, and for the first time since he started to work he feels... Good. Appreciated. Welcome. He's not a random single Omega parent searching for a way to feed his spawn. He's one of them now. The first two times he thought they would never take him in, but now ? It's super confusing. He shakily types a thank note to Alana - the girl did an amazing job at finding him this place, he owns her his life - and calls his mom and then Jared on the way to announce them the good news. Heidi is proud, despite the fact that she repeats "I told you so" four or five times, but in a very proud way. Of course, his best friend's first response is to drink themselves to death to celebrate, something Evan is only half-convinced to do, bu somehow Jared finds his way in the Omega's heart and they agree to trash themselves that night. Fortunately, Heidi would not mind taking care of her grandson.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The thing is, a drunk Evan is an Evan with no filters. As they're roaming the supermarket alcool's aisle to gather as much as their drunken selves can carry without breaking anything, a lot of things cross his mind and his mouth without him thinking about it too much.

 

"I'm gonna marry the- the fuck out of you, Jared, I swear," he says with what he hopes is the most menacing tone he can manage, which is... not working much.  
"Shut your fuck, I love you more," Jared replies, slowly slurring.  
"Nonono listen, listen to me," Evan adds as he almost run into a shelving, "You're like- you're like the one person that... what was I saying... Oh yeah, you're the one person that never let me down."  
"True, true."  
"Like, I know that I'm not the best at being a friend or... Or even a decent human being m-most of the time but like. Like. Are you listening ? Like I swear I have one true quality, is that I'm good at picking friends."  
"How did you manage to compliment both of us while being drunk ?" Jared frowns, his gaze lost in something that's happening before his eyes but invisible to the rest of human kind.  
"I'm jjjjjust that good," Evan barks, lifting a cealed bottle of rum as if he's ready to raise a toast, and Jared joins him in his hilarity.

 

They get to the counter where Connor is looking at them, eyebrow raised, an earphone out.

 

"Good Lord, you look so trashed," he comments as the two slowly but surely make their way to him. "What's the occasion ?"  
"Got my frickin' job !" Evan giggles and stumbles on Jared, who catches him messily.  
"The boy of the night, ladies and gents !" the latter yells at the empty aisles, bursting into another laughter. "Dat my freaking Omega over there ! He did it !"

 

As Connor is packing the three bottles, the gallon of mango ice cream and the cheese crackers, Evan takes his wallet out and fidgets a few seconds, trying to grab his money.

 

"No card tonight ?"  
"Can't type straight," he grumbles, his tongue poking out with how hard he's trying.  
"You can't do anything straight, you gay fuck," Jared laughs from the other end of the counter.  
"Fuckin watch me," the younger man snorts as he takes the paper bag and tries to make a bee line to the door, only tumbling a few times.  
"He's gonna be the death of me I swear," Jared whines, a hand clutching comically at his heart as he follows him outside.

 

Connor lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding and takes his head in his hands. Who the fuck was this Alpha that called Evan "his Omega" ? The first thing that comes to his brain is that it's Percy's father, but they have literally nothing in common, physically speaking. Not that Connor is physionomist or anything, but still, he's good a t deducing things and it seems highly unprobable. Not impossible, though. The fact that it somewhat matters so much ends to irritate him. He shouldn't care but he cares, and he hates it. Connor grumbles and putsback his earphones, well intended to drown the world around him.


	7. Cats And Tragic Backstories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW : Mentions of  
> -homophobia (kinda ?)  
> -slur and slang  
> -emotional abuse  
> -suicidal thoughts  
> -suicide attempts  
> -cutting  
> -mental health neglect
> 
> (If I missed anything, please tell me, for everyone's sake.)

The next time Evan meets Connor, it's absolutely by chance. It's half past eleven and the museum director forced him to take some fresh air, threatening him to put him at rest if he sees him back at his desk before one p.m. So here he is, making his way to his favorite sandwich shop to kill the time, when he physically runs into the cashier at a street corner.

 

"Careful !" Connor yelps when they collide, holding something above his head.  
"Fu- I'm so sorry, a-are you okay ?" Evan exclaims, before recognizing him. "Oh, Connor..! God, I'm sorry, did I hurt you ?"

 

The other man huffs quietly and checks severely the paper bag in his hands. When he realizes nothing broke, he sighs and his face softens, almost smiling when he makes eye contact. (Obviously, Evan blushes.)

 

"Nah, it's fine, don't worry. What's up ? Is someone chasing you or something ?" he adds playfully.

 

Evan shuffles and gabbles his explanation as they walk along, apparently headed in the same direction. When he finally decides to stop imbarrass himself, he takes a curious peek at the large bag in his friend's arms.

 

"What do you plan on doing with all of this ?" he asks, eyeing suspiciously the five tuna cans and the dry food for pets.

 

Connor squints his eyes comically and grins, not bothering to answer, but points at a small alley on their right.

 

"Follow me if you wanna know, but keep it quiet."

 

It takes all Evan's self control to go after him, repeating to himself that Connor is his friend and will probably not kill him in a dark alley - _plus, what would he do with the tuna ? And why specially him ? Shut up brain._ As his eyes get used to the dim light of the backstreet, he notices they're surrounded by cats, and that they're all converging toward the two of them. He watches, amazed, as Connor drops on his knees and pets a few of them.

 

"Hey guys," he coos. "Missed me ?"

 

Evan jumps a little when a red stripped cat with a nicked ear comes to rub against his leg. Connor chuckles.

 

"Looks like Tom adopted you."  
"They have names ?" Evan's eyes widen.  
"Of course. This is Thomas," he says as he points at the cat still trying to earn Evan's attention, "And the big grey one is Titan. The small pale ones are Lewis and Tora, and this is White Shadow. The one over there is Moka, sometimes his sister Vanilla comes around, but it doesn't happen often. Uh, there are... Oh yeah, the one trying to steal the food - come on, _shoo_ \- is Minnie, and the black one is Jade. She's also the mom of Tom's kits."  
"And the ones behind the box over there ?" Evan asks as he lowers a hand to pat Tom.  
"The one with big eyes is Weed, and the tabby one is Smoke."  
"Of course they are."

 

Connor pulls a can from the bag and opens it, presenting the industrial tuna to Minnie and Titan. Soon enough, the rest of the cats push each other, trying to access the food while meowing their ears off. When every tin can and every plastic bag has been cleaned by eager tongues, the cats slowly disappear one by one, in the shadows of the street, some of them purring one last time at Connor's intention before sloping off. Evan's cheeks hurt with how hard he's smiling.

 

"S-So..." he coughs, drawing Connor's attention, "Are you a crazy cat lady or something like that ?"  
"Something like that, yeah," the other one snorts before getting up.

 

They leave the alley in a relatively confortable silence. As Evan enters the sandwich shop, it turns out that Connor is simply following him, so they both choose their lunch to take away. They eat, walking along the jetty. They talk about everything. About anything, really. Connor talks about his sister who's living on the other side of the city and who goes to feed the cats when he can't ; Evan talks about his mom and how hard she works while still managing some time to take care of her grandson. They talk about Connor's classes, the book he plans on writing and what he's going to do for the incoming break - he's been looking for tracks to do with a mountain bike, because why not. They talk about Evan's new job, the museum and the surprise he plans for Percy, which is taking him to sail in high sea to go watch the dolphins.

 

They eventually reach an empty bench and sit on it, enjoying the wind that carry sea smells. After a few moments, Connor turns around to look at him.

 

"Can I ask you something rude ?"  
"I-I mean I guess ?" Evan mumbles, an eyebrow arched in surprise.  
"How did you become a single dad so young ?"  
"Oh, _wow_ , okay, that was incredibly rude..."  
"Fuck, I knew it, I'm sorry..."  
"No no no, it's okay, it's just..." he huffs and rubs his neck tiredly. "Usually people don't ask a-and just make assumptions out of the blue, not even trying to know me."  
"I..." Connor doesn't know what to say.  
"It's kind of a pathetic story really ?" Evan chuckles, but it has no emotion behind it. "It's hard to be an Omega when you're a male... It's, uh, it's even harder when you're sixteen and everyone is j-just looking at you like you-like you mean nothing. Like you're lesser than a human being. Just because you won the genetic lottery or whatever."

 

He stops talking a few seconds, his fingers nervously fidgeting with the seam of his coat.

 

"It's like, you're a parasite now for some reason. You're not worth their time anymore. So they turn their back at you and, uh, you have nowhere to hide. Because wherever you go, they watch you and judge you for s-something you can't control. So, you know, when an Alpha is suddenly nice to you ? It means everything. You, uh, you feel like you're alive again. Like you're part of something big and important. So you start to hang out with the Alpha. You spend time together and both of you like it, and... It's nice, it's really nice. You feel wanted, I d-don't know. You feel something inside and it's enough for you to think that, _yes, finally, you have a place to stay and someone to wait for_. And you're just glad that you're finally accepted, and it doesn't matter if you're in love or not, because you'll never find better, right ?"

 

He chuckles nervously again and blinks a few times. The edge of his eyelids is slowly turning red.

 

"So you give into things you'd normally never go for. Like, because you actually matter to someone, you f-feel beholden to him. But it doesn't matter, right, because you can make a few sacrifices to make it work. You want it to work. You want to feel human again. It's a-all that matters, when you're sixteen. You want to l-look good, and be liked, and not be a social outcast. So you make stupid choices. You think, _fuck consequences !_ Except that you're the one who's fucked."

 

His hand clutches nervously on his polo, right over his lower stomach. If Connor notices, he pretends not to see.

 

"And... Turns out you're not as loved as you thought. Word runs in the streets about you. People call you names. _Omega slut. Mating whore._ And the Alpha you thought would p-protect you from that..? He doesn't care. He looks at you like he's looking at a broken toy. You know, that look halfway between sadness, disgust and annoyance. And... You kinda wanna die ? Because no one is here to save you. You're tired of holding on. Honestly, a-at this point, you're just ready to let go."

 

He takes a break to swallow down the lump in his throat and brush away the few tears. Next to him, Connor is like petrified.

 

"But, in the end, you're, uh, you're not that alone. There still is your mom, who loves you no matter what ? And there is your best friend, who comes to your house when the rumors reach him. He comes to you and forces you t-to talk, to untie the lies from the truth, and it hurts of course, because it puts you in front of your own credulity. Then he stays the night to confort you, then walks with you to school the next day and punches the Alpha in the face, and that's probably why he's your best friend. Because he's ready to fight in your name, which, honestly, how awesome is that, huh ? A-And eventually you're given a choice between whether or not erase the consequences of your actions. Except... Except that it won't make the rest disappear ? So in the end you have to choose between cancel what came from something you liked and try to forget everything, or... Go with it. Grow a plant f-from ashes, you know ? And take care of it until it's tall enough to, uh, to stand on its own. Make something good out of a disaster. And that's exactly what you do : y-you hold on onto your tiny plant and watch it grow stronger than you've even been."

 

He sighs and finally looks at his friend, who still isn't moving, but whose face is stuck in between shock and infinite sadness.

 

"Co-"  
"Evan."  
"Y-yes ?"  
"This is not pathetic. It's the saddest fucking thing I've ever heard, alright. You don't- God, you don't just go around being allowed to think this is pathetic, because it's not..! This is tragic at most if you really want to go for greek theater, but it's not... Fuck, you deserve better than that, Evan !" he grunts and flails angrily. "People are trash, okay. Don't blame yourself because a bunch of assholes made you feel like garbage in the first place. So yeah, you took bad life decisions, and then what ? At least you assumed your mistakes, unlike others. You didn't look away when you had to make a choice. If... If people can't deal with who you are, _with what you are_ , then they don't deserve you."

 

Evan snorts a laugh.

 

"I'm sorry, I-I don't want to break your dramatic moment o-or anything but you just reminded me of the 'he doesn't deserve you' vine."

 

Connor can't help but snigger at that.

 

"Way to kill a mood, Ev, what the fuck."

 

Evan laughs louder and soon they're both hilarious, hiccuping between the tears. They don't know long they stay here at howling on the sidewalk, scaring away both passers and seagulls, but eventually the nervous chuckles fade in the wind. They decide to walk a bit more, going to the lighthouse down the road and then come back. Their hands linked at some point, without any of them really noticing, or even minding it. It's just nice.

 

"S-So," Evan asks after a while, "can I unlock your tragic backstory too or do I have to, uh, pass another level for that ?"

 

Connor rolls his eyes playfully.

 

"If you really want to know, it's the classic trop of the depressive kid with anger issues going through high school without proper mental care. Tried to kill myself a couple of times, never really worked out, as you can see. It was my sister Zoe who eventually rang the alarm, and since our parents trust her more than me... My mom took me to the therapist, I got meds. My father never believed in mental issues, so it was kind of a battlefield at home, everyone trying not to walk on the other camp's mines."

 

He shrugs and smiles, as if he's getting rid of bad memories.

 

"It took months of therapy for my brain to finally stop its shit : I wanted to survive, and more important, I wanted to live. From then, it went considerably better, I guess. It went easier the better I got. And now look at me : I'm studying to be a literature teacher, I have a healthy relationship with my mom and sister, and I can go for months without any severe breakdown."

 

When Evan doesn't return his joyful glance, he stops walking.

 

"What ?"  
"And... your wrists ?" the other asks with a tiny voice, his mouth hiden behind his coat.  
"... Those are years old, Evan. I haven't been cutting for a very long time," he replies seriously, tugging mindlessly at the wristband, and adds, when he sees that the smaller man still looks troubled, "Now, I'll treat you to coffee, how does that sounds ?"

 

Evan pretends to be considering the question.

 

"Fine. ...But only if it's on me next time."

 

It a date.


	8. (Discord Update !)

Hello ! Quick update to share with you the Discord server I host and where there are a whole bunch of very nice people ! Come by whenever you feel like saying hello ! :)

Link [here](https://discord.gg/egaKgJZ) !


	9. Troublemaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy gets himself involved into a fight.

"And, suddently, it's all right, y'know ? You don't feel like such a freak anymore."  
"...Are you seriously quoting Orange Is the New Black ?"  
"Shut up Jared, you're not helping," Alana says, rolling her eyes playfully.

 

Evan's frustrated scream is muted by the pillow he's pressing against his face. Jared and Alana giggle, uncompassionate, as they nibble on crackers. The Good Place is playing on TV but none of them is actually paying attention. Evan looks up from his pillow, his attention drifting a little in his unusually noisy appartment : between the show, the washing machine cleaning away the last traces of the cooking disaster from the previous week, the computer humming gently by his feet and his two friends chatting, Alana nestled in the love seat and Jared wallowed in the sofa, he's thrown ten years back. Evan himself is comfortably sitting on the carpet, between the coffee table and the couch and curled around his fluffiest pillow with food, drinks and technology within easy reach. He focuses back on the conversation at hand, however, when Connor's name is mentioned.

 

"I mean," Alana continues as she shovels another handful of appetizers in her mouth, "I still have to meet him. And it's not like you could have had a good look at him while being intoxicated, Jared, excuse me. I need more than that."  
"I'm surprisingly lucid when I'm drunk, mind you, unlike Mister Lightweight over there..." Jared replies, bringing his caprisun closer to his face.  
"Can we _please_ go back to the problem at hand ?" the concerned groans, finally taking his head out of his pillow.  
"I don't see how it is a problem," Jared says between two sips. "You have a crush on the supermarket's cashier. What else is new."  
"The problem is that I can't !" Evan almost shouts before burying his head back where it belongs.  
"Actually, there is nothing stopping you from dating him," Alana says, her eyes still fixed on the screen. "Except maybe yourself."  
"And your dating history but heh, no one is perfect," he shrugs, before yelping when Alana's foot meets his face. "Ow ! What was that for ?!"  
"Again, not helping, Jared," she sighs, settling back in her seat. "Ev, listen. We're not teens anymore. And Connor knows you have Percy, right ? He's not bothered by him, right ?"  
"No," Evan admits reluctantly. "No, they kind of like each other."  
"See ? There's no problem. I think you can trust that man."

 

Evan picks nervously at the seam of the pillow, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

 

"I trusted _him_ , too."  
He catches Alana and Jared exchanging a pained glance and looks immediately back down. This, right there, is the problem.  
"I just-" he breathes, "I don't want to live that ever again, y-you know."

 

Jared's hand lands gently on top on his head, not actually moving but just being here. It's all Evan asks for at this point.

 

"Connor will not be another Noah," Alana then says, sounding infinitely certain of it.  
"And if Connor turns out to be another Noah, I swear on you mom's head that I will personally break his mouth," he says solemnly.  
"Yeah, well, it won't stop me for feeling like shit," Evan snorts jokingly.

 

Alana laughs under her breath as Jared smirks, ruffling his best friend's hair. Evan smiles and squeezes his pillow a little tighter. Of course it won't stop him for feeling like shit, it's how he feels on a daily basis. But he can try, right ?

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

Evan hangs up his phone with more force than necessary. Zec glances at him from over the rake he's leaning on.

 

"Problem ?" he asks, sounding somehow even more tired than usual.

 

Evan winces with a shrug and starts collecting his equipment.

 

"My son got into a fight at school a-and I have to pick him up."  
"Oh," he raises an eyebrow. "Happens often ?"  
"No, that's why I'm worried. I'll, uh, I promise I'll make extra hours to compensate for today, but I really have to go."

 

Zec unbends from his rake and rubs his face with a yawn.

 

"Nah, you're good. It's just a lawn."

 

Evan nods and walks away, but Zec calls him again.

 

"Hey, Hansen, one last thing," he smiles, "if you need anything, just ask. You have to right to be helped."

 

Evan feels his cheeks burn as he makes his way to his car. Is he that transparent ? How can people read him so easily these days ? He shakes his head, exasperated, and starts the car. Fortunately, Percy's school is less than twenty minutes away, and the lack of traffic makes it even easier. As soon as he steps into the building, the old woman at the reception eyes him suspiciously, making him sweat nervously. He walks closer, discreetly rubbing his hands up and down his pants while the lady keeps staring at him.

 

"Hum, h-hi, hello, I've been called because of my son ?"  
"Which name ?" she asks, a little harshly, still shamelessly looking him up and down.  
"Hum, Hansen, Percy Hansen."

 

She huffs, as if he's making her lose her precious time, and takes the landline without breaking eye contact. Evan feels like he could die on the spot and she would feel personally offended.

 

"Yeah. Yeah," she mumbles on the phone. "Yeah listen, I have an Omega here asking for a kid. Yeah. Yeah. Hansen, he said. Do we have a Hansen ? Yeah."

 

He flushes and makes a conscious effort to stop fidgeting with his messenger bag, flattening his fingers against his tight. The secretary hums a couple of times before putting the phone down and pointing at the nearest door without a comment. Evan takes it as the sign that he's not dying to day and almost runs to it after thanking the lady. God, he hates school so much.

 

"Come in !" a voice shouts after he knocks at the door.

 

The principal's office is bright, with walls covered in flyers and posters for random school things, from theater clubs to preventive campaign about lice invasion, child drawings and other random papers. He even notices two tiny pride flags hanging by the window. In the center of the room is a large desk with two chairs in front of it, with Percy trying to hide on one of them, and a leather desk chair behind. And, in the desk chair, the principal.

 

"Hello, mister Hansen," she smiles as she stands to shake his hand.

 

She looks like Evan's grandma, with her short hair and wrinkles around her eyes. She's nice, he decides. Unlike the secretary, she's not fixing him insistently and doesn't seem the kind of person to judge him for what he is.

 

"H-hello. I had a call..?" he starts, but she's waving at him so sit down and suddenly he can see his kid's face, red and tearful and refusing to look at him. "Percy ?"  
"You son Percival had a, ah, how do I put it ? An argument with Rudy McCoen."  
"Oh. What happened ?" he frowns, still trying to make his son to look at him.  
"That's the reason why I called you, mister Hansen. I couldn't make him talk and his classmate, well... He's at the infirmary right now, two teeth missing and crying his head off."

 

Evan gapes.

 

"H-how... Wh- Percy, what did you do ?"

 

The kid shrugs obstinately and closes his eyes.

 

"I'm so sorry about that, is the other kid okay ?"  
"Of course. It's only his deciduous teeth after all. Nothing that time can't fix," she assures him, distractedly putting a grey wick of hair back into place. "But you'll understand that I can't let my students hit each other without consequences, even less without any apparent reason. Now, the thing is... I know Percy is a good person. He never did this kind of thing before and, from what his teacher told me, he's well tempered. So I can't help but wonder... What happened ?"

 

She says the last sentence leaning over her desk to look at Percy, who shrugs again with a sniff and crosses his arms on his chest. Evan aches to see him like that, but doesn't say anything.

 

"You see, mister Hansen, I really want to get to the bottom of this story," she sighs and frowns at her desk, as if the furniture offended her. "Rudy is known for being a troublemaker, and his parents... Anyway. Right now, it looks like Percy is the one who started and ended it. But I don't believe is true. What do you think ?"  
"No, it d-doesn't sound like Percy at all," Evan confirms.

 

She sighs once again and nods pensively, before turning back to the kid.

 

"I need you to be honest with us. Can you tell us what happened ?"

 

Percy makes a pained face but his eyes flutter open and it's like he's seeing them for the first time, in the light of the bright office.

 

"He said things," he finally mumbles under his breath.

 

Evan and the principal exchange a long look, both of them knowing what it implies.

 

"What did he say ?" she asks nonetheless.

 

Percy shifts, rubs his eyes, picks at his shirt. Evan notices distantly that his knuckles are red and scratched and he makes a mental note to take care of this once they're home.

 

"He said... Bad things about my dad. And... He insulted Max, too. He kept telling nasty things and I just wanted him to shut up, I- I didn't want to hurt him."

 

His eyes are full of tears again and Evan has to fight the urge to console him, console his baby, taking him home and protecting him from the whole world. But he doesn't. He takes a deep breath and he stays where he sits, his hands clutching at his pants' fabric. The principal grimaces and falls back into her chair, her hands fidgeting with a pen.

 

"Can you... be more specific, Percy ? About the things that he said ?"

 

Percy casts his father an unsure look, like he's afraid to hurt him, but Evan puts his hand on his shoulder and makes a half-smile that seems to convince him to talk.

 

"H-He said that all Omegas are whores, and that my dad is no exception. He said that they shouldn't be allowed to work or vote or... Stuff like that. He said that I would never be normal because I don't have a mom and a dad. And then he made fun of Max too."  
"Did you tell him to stop ?" she asks quietly.  
"He says that his parents say that so it must be true."

 

As Percy looks down, Evan feels like crying a little. The principal sighs deeply and puts her pen back on the desk.

 

"Racist, sexism, homophobia, genderism... I don't know about you, mister Hansen, but I'm tired of this society that extols hate towards minorities. That's why I'm doing this job in the first place. This is not a behavior I will turn a blind eye on. The McCoens have to learn that they can't teach their child to hate his classmates like they do."

 

She sighs again and stands up, opening a metallic drawer on her right. When she comes back, she has a bunch of sheets in her hands and she's putting glasses on.

 

"From my point of view, it went this way : Rudy McCoen said awful things he heard from his parents and repeated them in class," she says as she writes. "He slandered some of his classmates' parents, you as it happens, and Maximilian Mell too, correct ?"

 

Percy nods, last tear finally dried.

 

"After what, Percival Hansen punches Rudy McCoen, breaking two teeth and splitting his upper lip. Still correct ?" she raises an eyebrow at the kid, who chews his thumb and agrees. "This is what we're going to do then : for now, you'll be temporarily excluded and receive a warning. If it happens again, I will have to contact the school therapist and make a decision concerning your scholarship in this establishment. You have to understand, Percy, that nothing can be solved by violence. I won't let you grow thinking that you can go around and fight people, because I would be a poor excuse of a school director, and even poorer excuse of a human being."  
"An eye for an eye and the world goes blind," Evan mutters, earning a knowing grin from her.  
"Exactly. Be assured that I'll be dealing with Rudy, anyway, because it's not something I can let slip. He'll have worse than a warning, believe me."

 

From the blinding smile Percy shoots her, Evan realizes that she probably made her way into his heart. She stands up once again and show them the door, shaking his hand once they're outside. She smiles at him one last time and says :

 

"You can be proud of your kid, mister Hansen. He's growing into a brave person."

 

Evan doesn't know what to say so he keeps thanking her until the door closes. They pass by the secretary who scowls, but who cares ? Evan surely doesn't.

 

The ride home is quiet, the car filled with awkward tension, so Evan decides at the last moment to turn right instead of left and takes his son at A La Mode, an old ice-cream parlor that was already his favorite twelve years ago. In front of Percy's puzzled face, Evan can't help but laugh.

 

"Why are we getting ice cream ?" the kid asks, almost suspicious.  
"You don't want some ?" Evan teases.  
"Of course I do, why are you even asking ! But why ?"

 

Evan just smiles and takes his son's hand and they walk inside the shop. Ten minutes later, when they're seated in front of their respective cups, Percy comes back to charge.

 

"I did something bad," he insists, shoveling chocolate and strawberry in his mouth and grimacing when he gets a brain-freeze. "Why are we getting ice cream when I should be punished ?"  
"I could still put you on time-out," Evan smirks, licking the vanilla on his spoon. "Would you prefer that over getting a treat ?"  
"No..."  
"Then stop complaining."

 

After a moment, though, Evan continues :

 

"You did something bad, alright. I'm not happy knowing that you throw hands with whoever trashtalks people you like."  
"He called you a whore, dad !" Percy cries out, slamming his hands on the tabletop and drawing the other few patrons' attention. "Why aren't you angry ? He had no right to call you that."  
"Percy," Evan huffs when his son winces and looks like he's about to cry again. "People have been calling me names for longer than you've been alive. I'm used to it. I don't mind anymore."  
"But I do," the other replies with a tiny voice, pain shining in his dark eyes. "You're my dad. I care what people think of you. That's because you don't care what they think they can say horrible things about you, when you're amazing ! That's not fair !"

 

He looks so small and heartbroken and Evan is struck with how much he must hate the situation he found himself into.

 

"You're the best and they don't see it."  
"People are mean, Percy," he sighs and rubs his thumb on the back of his son's hand. "They don't want to be told how to see the world. They don't want you to make them think, because it would break their certitudes and it's scary."  
"But it's scarier for me to know that they could beat you up just because you're my only dad."  
"I know, buddy. I know."

 

The silence is heavy with sadness and resignation. The ice cream is melted by now, but Evan can't care less because as they make they way back to the car, Percy's hand doesn't leave his, and it's all he asks in life. Being able to hold his little boy's hand and buy him ice cream when the day has been bad. Simply being here with him, alive and healthy and happy despite everything and everyone. That night, Evan falls asleep with the certainty that his son is the best that happened to him.


	10. Something Alive

Evan hates doctors. Well, to be fair, he doesn't hate _doctors_ , but he hates everything that comes with the profession, from taking the appointment to actually go to the appointment and then to the pharmacy to collect whatever is supposed to help him. It's just- Too much interaction in one day. He wishes he could get away without it. He doesn't need to talk to people to get through life, does he ?

 

"Mister Hansen ?" the secretary calls, making him flinch uncontrollably.  
"H-here !" he squeaks, his voice too pitched to be natural.

 

Fuck, now everyone is looking at him. He rushes at the reception where the secretary gently points out that the doctor will receive him. He takes a deep breath like he's about to dive, and enters the office.

 

In the waiting room, Jared shifts on his chair, making plastic noises that bring a few glares on him. On the middle of the room, Percy is sharing his toys with another child on the carpet, where old broken stuff is displayed. Eventually, the red-haired kid looks up, noticing that his dad is gone, and makes grabby hands for Jared to pick him up. Jared installs him on his lap because he's not a monster, and pets his godchild's head.

 

"Is Dad sick ?" Percy whispers, his voice somehow still taking to much space in the crowded room.

 

A lady glances at them uncomfortably, probably wishing to be anywhere but near a probably-dying-parent's-child, but Jared scoffs a laugh and shakes his head.

 

"Nah, frog, he's fine. The head doctor gave him a new medication so he has to make sure the rest of his treatment doesn't go in the way."  
"Like the morning blue pills ?" Percy hums.  
"Yup. It's like... About chemistry and stuff... You know, like you can't combine some things together or else it makes weird reactions ?"  
"Oh, oh, I know !" he replies excitedly, "Like the video with the soda and the mentos ?"  
"Yeah, well, Dad won't exactly turn into a geyser but that's the idea."

 

Percy nods along, face serious, probably not wanting his dad to be a geyser either, and finally jumps down Jared's knees to go back to play with the kid on the carpet. Jared distractedly wonders when his life turned that way.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Whose idea was this ?" Evan hisses, knuckles white on the wheel.

 

Jared raises an unimpressed eyebrow from the shotgun seat and sips loudly on his smoothie. In the back of the car, Percy makes fighting sounds as he spins the Joker and Ben 10 around, unaware of the tension building up in the vehicle.

 

"Nobody," Jared eventually responds, lacking his usual sarcasm. "It's not like you choose to have a fucked up brain."  
"Language."  
"Sorry," he grumbles before repeating louder at the kid's intention, "A messed up brain."

 

Percy doesn't seem to mind and increases the number of _pew pews_. Jared rolls his eyes with affection and eventually focuses back on his best friend.

 

"You knew that he would have to change your prescription, anyway. It's not like you're even surprised, are you ?"

 

Evan shakes his head and drums anxiously on the wheel, waiting for the light to turn green.

 

"But I haven't been without suppressants for so long..."  
"You got this, Ev."

 

He looks up to Jared, who seems more honest than ever.

 

"You've been through dozens of heats before. This one will be no different."  
"B-But it will !" Evan huffs, "It's the first time in eight years that I go a full cycle !"  
"What do you prefer ?" the Alpha snaps. "One heat cycle that will last, what, four days, or months without mood stabilizer ?"

 

Evan frowns and doesn't reply. He knows Jared is being rational, but he's scared. He remembers how violents his first couple of heats where until his mom made him take suppressants, and he doesn't want to feel like this ever again. Physical pain is one of the very few things he's terrified of. That's probably why he never succeeded to... Anyway.

 

"C'mon, you know I'm right," Jared taunts again, slurping louder through his straw.  
"I know."  
"It's gonna be okay."  
"I know."  
"And you can still ask for help..."  
"We're not talking about Omega services again-"  
"I was about to say you could ask the Murphy boy, but that works too," he shrugs, and Evan groans.  
"No. I'm- I'm not involving Connor in this mess. Plus it's not like we're that close yet."  
"That's not how it looked to me when I found you sticking your tongue down his throat the other day."  
" _Jesus Christ, Jared._ "

 

Evan glances at his son in the mirror, but by the way the Joker is exterminating Ben 10, Percy is probably the most careless kid in the world right now.

 

"Dude, chill," Jared continues, oblivious of his havoc-creating capacity. "All I'm saying is that he likes you enough to let you slobber all over his face-"  
"Ew, gross," Percy comments distantly, Ben now dying on the back seat next to him.  
"Mood," the Alpha agrees. "But anyway, the point is : I don't think he would mind if you ask for his help. Hell, he might even enjoy it."  
"Language."  
" _Heck._ "

 

Percy giggles. Evan sighs.

 

"Being an Omega sucks," he states, as if it wasn't obvious yet.

 

In the mirror, his son stops his game for a second, only to state, his face grave :

 

"Maybe, but you're good at it."

 

Jared high-fives him.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Accidentally In Love is playing through the speakers of Evan's computer as he types, erases, types again. In the living room, Percy and Max are watching a movie with Jared, their clear laugh sometimes breaking through his bubble and bringing a smile on his face. A vibration pulls him from his thoughts and he glances at his phone, laying on the table next to him. He grumbles, wondering if he'll ever have a moment of peace to write his damn book. When he picks up, however, his mood shifts considerably as he realizes it's Connor texting. A weird puff of warm feelings makes its way in his chest when the words prints into his mind and he practically bolts out of the kitchen, grabbing his keys and jacket on his way. Jared turns to him when he runs across the living room, a silent question on his face.

 

"I'll be back for lunch !" he screams and disappears, the door slamming behind him.

 

There is a second of astonished silence that Jared breaks by laughing, pinching the bridge of his nose.

 

"You dad is soooo in love," he tells Percy.  
"Disgusting," Max deadpans and pokes his friend in the cheek when he laughs.  
"Shut up, what do you know, you're like four," Percy teases.  
"I'm just one year younger than you !" his friend gasps, looking betrayed.  
"Are all seven years old that dramatic or is it just you guys ?" Jared wonders but doesn't get an answer as the other two engage in a pillow fight.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Connor has a shit-eating grin plastered on his face when Evan meets him in front of the supermarket, and it makes him want to wipe it away. Preferably with his own face.

 

"What did you do ?" Evan frowns, not fooled in the least.  
"Hello to you too, Hansen," Connor hums peacefully, rocking back and forth on his feet.  
"If you killed someone I'm not helping you hide the body."  
"Fuck, here goes my Saturday afternoon's plan. But no, joke aside, there is something you might want to see."

 

Evan knows he won't be able to get anything more from him and instead falls into an easy walk. Connor is not in a rush, like he knows where he's going and he knows he's getting there eventually. At some point, as they reach downtown, the crowd gets thicker every step they take, and somehow Connor's hand finds Evan's and it's way easier for some reason. Even when they're already far from the mass, they don't let go of each other.

 

Connor stops in front of an old misshapen gate between two old misshapen buildings, looking somewhat very proud of himself.

 

"It's a gate," Evan comments intelligently, because it is, in fact, a gate.  
"What's important is not the gate, Ev, but what's hiding behind."

 

And with that, he pushes the gate and engages himself in the path. Evan almost hesitates to follow him -after all, if they're a gate they might not be supposed to get in, maybe it's someone's private property- but he realizes that he doesn't know the neighborhood and his guide is already down the way, waiting for him. He doesn't need much more to follow Connor.

 

"I-I swear, you have a spider sense for creepy dark backstreets."  
"Excuse, creepy dark backstreets with cool stuff in them," the taller man replies and points at a green patch in front of him. When Evan's sight adjusts to the new luminosity, he lets out an amazed gasp.  
"Oh my God."

 

Connor's smirk grows wider as he steps closer to the old oak growing against all odds in the building courtyard.

 

"Oh my _God_ , Connor," Evan repeats, astonished, "This tree is p-probably older than both of us together."  
"Is that old ? I mean, for a tree ?"

 

Evan glances at him over his shoulder when the bench he's sitting on is making a creaky noise.

 

"Usually an urban tree can survive thirty years. So, yeah, um, it's pretty old."

 

And suddenly Evan finds himself info dumping about oak trees and urban flora and pollution and all the stuff he's been reading since basically forever. He eventually slows down, his speech flow drying.

 

"Sorry," he mumbles, "I know how annoying it is when someone starts ranting."

 

But Connor is smiling from ear to ear, something wild shining in his eyes as he takes Evan's hand again and kissing every knuckle.

 

"This is amazing," he whispers. "Do it again."  
"...What, ranting for half an hour about trees ?"  
"Being so passionate about something. It's like you light up from inside or, I don't know. Please, do it again."

 

There's a plea hidden somewhere in there, a request for something alive that Evan can't deny, so he follows on another topic and another one and Connor somehow just looks so happy to hear him talk and talk and talk and, yes, maybe Jared was right, maybe Evan is a romantic lost cause.

 

But Evan doesn't care, because all the attention is on him and for once he's thriving.


	11. Love By Any Other Name

They're having lunch at the museum when Jared gets the call.

 

It starts with a disinterested grunt, then an attentive frown, and the chewed corner of the sandwich leaving his mouth. Then he gets up and walks to a corner of the room, and Alana and Evan exchange a worried look. If Jared ever walks away, it's when he's emotionally overwhelmed.

 

He comes back to the table, his hands shaking a little as he tries to end the call and stuff the rest of his lunch back into his backpack.

 

"What's going on ?" Alana asks, her fork rattling against plastic when she drops it in her salad bowl.

 

To Evan, it almost sounds like a drum roll announcing a catastrophe.

 

"Alexa got into a car accident," Jared says, his voice filled with many things that refuse to come out, "She's at the hospital. I have to go."

 

He disappears in the badly lit hallways of the museum with his jacket thrown across his shoulder and his half-closed bag in his arms. Evan slowly closes his mouth. Alana blinks, aghast. None of them are in the mood for lunch anymore.

 

Anxiety flares in his guts as he imagines Jared's little sister in a car crash. His skin crawls at the thought of metal and glass cutting into skin, of space compressing around her small frame. He imagines the shock when the vehicle gets hit - by what ? Another car ? A truck ? He hopes it's not a truck.

 

"I hope she's okay," he whispers, but his voice is wonky enough for his friend to notice.

 

She grabs his hands and squeezes gently.

 

"Me too."

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Usually, Evan stays in the car when he goes to pick up Percy after school, but this time, there is no avoiding the other parents : he has someone to find.

 

He self-consciously looks himself down before stepping out, making sure nothing about his clothes (the change he has in the changing room at the park) is out of place. Except for the over-sized grey sweat-shirt that is absolutely not his - Connor left it at the appartment the last time he spent the night and no one else except the two of them know that it's not Evan's, so sue him - everything is normal. Satisfied with his appearance, he finally opens the door and discreetly makes his way to the gate, where he catches a glimpse of a distinctive red hoodie. He sighs in relief and hurries.

 

Michael straightens a little when he see Evan coming his way, an incredulous smile growing on his face.

 

"Evan !" he beams, "I thought large groups were against your religion or something ?"

 

Evan chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. Michael peels himself from the wall he's been leaning on, his smile faltering a bit.

 

"Uh oh. You have something to ask me, don't you ?"  
"Yeah. Listen," the young father worries the end of the sweat-shirt between his fingers, "I have to deal with some stuff next week and I-- I wondered if your parents would be okay with having Percy over for the week ? He and Max are basically tied by the hip already so..."

 

He stops in his track when he realizes Michael is trying to suppress a grimace.

 

"Oh. That's... a no, I guess ?"  
"Look, man, it's not against you or anything," the young Alpha rises his hands, "But it's been mayhem at home with the old folks divorcing and all... I won't be here to take care of the boys, either, and there's no way I'm leaving them alone with my parents throwing stuff at each other."  
"You won't be here ?" Evan repeats, and Michael flushes a little.  
"Jeremy's heat is coming up very soon and... Yeah. I can't really keep an eye on two kids with my hands full already."  
"I get it," Evan nods, a bit sheepish. "I'm getting into heat t-too, that's why I can't keep Percy home in the first place. Where is Max going to go, then?"  
"My aunt agreed to take him for a while," Michael explains and shrugs, "At least until Jere is better, and then... I don't know. I guess Max won't mind staying there with us. I'm sorry, I wish I could help."  
"It's fine, you have a lot on your plate already," he sighs. "You know you can always come for help, right ? Well, clearly not next week, but, like... in general."

 

Michael grins, but it doesn't completely reach his eyes. Instead, he buries his hands in his pockets and bumps into Evan.

 

"Don't worry about us," he chuckles. "We're going to be fine once I graduate."

 

Evan is about to say something more but there is a loud ring followed by the sound of two hundred elementary school students running for their life. The two of them retreat against the wall and wait for the wave to thin out. Then, in the middle of the chaos, they spot a mop of ginger hair next to floppy black curls. Percy's eyebrows shoot up in his hairline when he realizes Evan isn't waiting for him in the car as usual, but he runs to them nonetheless, Max in tow.

 

"Dad !"  
"Hey frog," Evan chuckles when his son comes crashing in his arms like he hasn't seen him in months. "How was you day ?"

 

As he starts to describe the mad adventures only a seven-years-old can go through in a single day, Max makes a bee-line to Michael and extends his arms to get picked up without a word.

 

"Evan, we're gonna go," Michael calls as he settles his brother on his hip. "See you guys around !"  
"Say hello to Jeremy for me."

 

The younger man waves distractedly and disappears in the crowd of children and parents. Evan turns back to Percy who's pulling him in the car's direction and keeps telling him about his day without a care in the world.

 

It's only when they're stuck into traffic that he cuts him in his monologue about english class.

 

"When we get home, I want you to start packing your clothes. You're going to go to Heidi's for a few days."  
"What ? Why ?!" Percy practically yells, and Evan sighs.  
"I told you about my new medicine ? The one that stops my brain from messing with me ?"

 

The child nods, slowly, eyes wide like he expects Evan to tell him he's about to die on the spot.

 

"Well, my suppressants get in the way, so for now the doctor said i should make a choice. And between being sad all the time and having one rough week..."

 

Percy's eyebrows pinch, giving him a worried look that doesn't sit well on his childish face.

 

"The point is... I'm going to be very out of it during that time. I will barely be able to take care of myself, so I really can't make sure you're good too."  
"I don't want to go," the kid pouts, his arms crossed on his chest. "I can take care for myself."  
"How are you going to get to school ? Or eat correctly ?"  
"I can do it !" he insists, his eyes suddenly filling with tears. "Please, Dad, just... Don't send me away."

 

Evan takes a hand off the wheel to gently ruffle his son's hair.

 

"It'll only be for a week, Percy, and you won't be that far. It'll be fine."

 

Percy doesn't answer, keeps on pouting stubbornly all the way back to their building. As soon as the front door is open, the kid makes a line for his room and slams his own door, making a clear point in showing he's not okay with that decision.

 

Evan lets him. He knows it's the first time they're going to be separated more than a day, and it's starting to stress him out too, so he pulls out his phone and sends a quick text.

 

Forty-five minutes later, the doorbell rings and when he goes to open, Connor is standing there with a grin and a couple of pizza boxes.

 

"You said you wanted the cutest delivery boy, but they only had me."

 

Evan snorts and pulls him into a kiss, to what Connor responds eagerly, pushing him back in the apartment as the door shuts behind them.

 

"Wow, you really wanted pizza, didn't you," the taller man deadpans when they finally break away from each other.  
"Maybe I just really wanted to see you ?"  
"I can't see how I'm more important than pizza, but go off I guess."

 

As Connor gets rid of his jacket and settles the boxes on the coffee table, Evan goes to knock on Percy's door. There is no answer, so he cracks it open, only to catch a glimpse of his son curled up under his comforter, his back to the door.

 

"Percy, Connor is here," Evan calls softly. "he brought pizza, if you want some."

 

He only earns a grunt a pillow thrown in his direction. He retreats, aware that the kid needs to brood it all before he can come back to him. At least he hopes so. As he comes back in the living room, Connor is setting down plates and glasses next to the pizzas, and looks up to him with a curious expression.

 

"Percy isn't eating with us ?"

 

The Omega shakes his head with a defeated huff and drops onto the couch.

 

"He's sulking because I- I'm sending him to my mom's for a week. He'll come around."

 

Connor makes a non-committal noise and wolfs down his first slice of triple cheese, slouching a little at the other end of the sofa. Evan helps himself with the Regina and gets half-way through it when eventually, the dark-haired man asks :

 

"Is everything okay ? Why do you need to send him away ?"  
"It's fine, it's not important. ...No, wait, actually, you know what ?" he replies, setting down his plate. "I was hoping you could help me."  
"Sure, about what ?"  
"I'm going into heat next week."

 

Connor almost chokes on his food. Suddenly, Evan wonders why he blurted that out. He's suddenly terrified that he messed things up horribly, and stress running under his skin like electricity and _shit, he really fucked up._

 

"Sorry, sorry, I- I thought it would be fine, I don't- I sorry, I don't want to impose anything to you, you don't owe me anything-"  
"Hey, hey, calm down," Connor puts his hand on the other's ankle, rubbing soothing circles on the fabric on his pants. "It's fine, I'm totally down with it, if you want me to."

 

His tone is calm, despite being in complete opposition with the violent blush coloring his cheeks and the top of his ears. Evan's heart gets a few beats slower.

 

"You sure ? I would totally understand if you don't want to, it's a pretty big commitment."

 

It's Connor's turn to snort, his hand creeping up to end on Evan's knee.

 

"We've been dating for eight months. Maybe it's time for you to consider that, maybe, I'm not going anywhere ?"

 

Evan gulps, wondering when it got boiling hot in the room. Maybe it's just because they're sitting so close.

 

"Yeah ?" he squeaks, his hands nervously picking at the sweatshirt.  
"Yep. You're stuck with me."

 

They smile at each other, and Evan tries really hard to not throw himself at Connor. He fails miserably, and they end in a giggly pile of limps across the couch.

 

"So... is that a yes ?"

 

Connor full-on laughs, before upturning them over so he's pining the Omega down.

 

" _Yes_ , Hansen, oh my God. I'll help you with your heat."

 

Evan really shouldn't be so turned on but he swears the universe is testing him. The rest of the evening is a blur as they spend a few hours making out and eating cheese-filled deliciousness. It's only around eleven, as they're about to start another episode of Brooklyn 99, that Connor stretches and says :

 

"You know, I think I could use a quick course about this whole thing."  
"...What ? You mean... Omega 101 ?" Evan yawns.  
"Yes, exactly," the other hums. "Like, what do you expect from me ? Aside from the whole sex part. No, wait, we need to talk about that too. How would that even work ?"

 

Maybe it's because Evan is blinking stupidly back at him, but Connor sighs and slouches a little against him.

 

"I'm a Beta. I can't..."  
"Knot ? That never stopped us before," Evan shrugs.  
"Okay. What about everything else ?"

 

He thinks about it for a while, trying to remember how it was before his mom made him take suppressants. It's foggy, and overall not very good memories, but he can recall a couple of useful things.

 

"Well, first of all... I'm going to get very hot, very quickly." Connor is smirking, so he playfully smack him on the arm. "You know what I mean !"  
"I didn't say it !"

 

His cheeks are burning but so are Connor's, so he guesses it's fair game.

 

"Anyway. You'll have to make sure I keep hydrated. And make me eat, even if I refuse at first. Omegas in heat aren't the most focused people so you might have to force me a little."  
"About that," the other interrupts. "What about consent ?"

 

Oh boy, here they go. Evan takes a deep breath, before starting, very serious :

 

"Okay, so. I give you my consent preventively. For the duration of my heat, you're allowed to do whatever you set your mind to."  
"Except for the usual stuff ?"

 

Evan's face flares up. When they started to sleep together, they had a very long talk about what was okay and what was off limits. Connor was against hitting, and Evan immediately banned slut-shaming. It was obvious, with their respective pasts, but they wanted to be clear on this. Better safe than sorry, and all that.

 

"Yeah. Except for the usual stuff, you can do whatever."

 

They cuddle on the couch for a little while before calling it a night. It's maybe barely past one when the door opens and the mattress dips as Percy makes discreetly his way between the two for them. Evan hugs him close, knowing he's asking for comfort.

 

He wonders if Percy is feeling replaced. He doesn't know how to tell him that no one in the world will replace his baby, his perfect, strong little plant. Not even Connor.

 

He wants to tell him that if Connor left it would suck, a lot, it would hurt like hell, but it would be nothing compared to the pain of his own child leaving. He wants to tell him that if he makes him go to his grandmother's house, it's because he can't trust himself to take care of the most important person in his life, so he makes sure he'll be safe with someone he trusts.

 

He wants to tell him how he looks like he knows what he's doing, but most of his life it's just him winging it in a panicked flailing, trying to keep the damage to a minimum.

 

There is a lot he wants to tell Percy, but he doesn't, because it's the middle of the night, and Percy is sound asleep, and Connor has an arm thrown over the two of them, and it feels incredibly good.

 

He doesn't, because deep down he knows Percy is aware of it. And if he needs to be told, Evan will tell him, explain him a thousand times in a thousand different ways how much he loves him.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this, leave a kudo and a comment, it feeds me ! If you're ready for more, check out my other fics and OS, I've been told it's all good stuff !


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